New Trump budget hikes defense spending

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday asked Congress in his fiscal 2020 budget to increase spending on the military and for the wall he wants to build on the U.S.-Mexico border while slashing non-defense spending by 5 percent, a senior administration official told reporters.

Nathan Frandino has more.

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New Trump budget hikes defense spending

$750 BILLION… that's how much President Donald Trump is proposing to Congress to pay for the ships, planes, bases, and troops that make up America's defense in the coming year.

It's the largest defense budget ever proposed for U.S. forces and it comes as Trump is also calling for substantial cuts to domestic spending programs and some $8.6 billion to build his contentious border wall with Mexico, setting up another fierce battle with Democrats.

Trump's defense proposal is a sharp jump over last year's $716 billion defense budget and substantially more than the Pentagon had requested.

The increase comes as a counter to stronger Chinese and Russian militaries, and it falls in line with Trump's pledges to rebuild the military.

(SOUNDBITE)(English) U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING: "We will have the strongest military that we've ever had, and it won't even be close." The boost in military spending would come with the U.S. budget deficit at a six-year high.

White House officials say Trump wants to cut non-defense spending by an average of 5 percent.

Trump proposes cutting $1.9 trillion from mandatory programs over a decade, with the budget balancing over 15 years, far longer than the 10 years traditionally favored by Republicans.

The budget will also allocate more money for immigration enforcement, veterans' health and for fighting the opioid epidemic.